Nottingham Forest vs Cardiff City: Tight win for Bluebirds in Championship clash

The Tricky Trees are making impressive strides under Mark Warburton, but we see value in a narrow away win for Neil Warnock’s men in the East Midlands

Cardiff City travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday hoping for a third straight victory to cement their place in the Championship’s top two.

They face a Forest side that have promotion ambitions themselves though, and have won each of their last four home encounters to put themselves within reach of the top six.

A fifth victory in seven for the Tricky Trees is 13/8 (2.63), while a first draw of the campaign for them is 23/10 (3.30).

However, we’re tipping the 8/5 (2.60) on a win for the Bluebirds, who have won eight of their last 10 meetings with the East Midlanders.

Neil Warnock’s side average 41% possession when they win and 45% when they fail to do so, which suggests that they will relish facing an expansive Forest side that plays on the front foot.

Winger Callum Paterson is 25/1 (26.0) to score first in a Cardiff win, as he did in the 1-0 triumph at Barnsley on Tuesday; while midfielder Craig Bryson – a familiar foe for Forest – can be found at 7/1 (8.0) to bag anytime.

If the hosts do score, inverted wide man Barrie McKay is a tempting bet at 13/5 (3.6) having netted in two of his last three at the City Ground, while second top scorer Kieran Dowell can be found at the same price.

Our best bet though is a Cardiff victory and under 2.5 goals at 9/2 (5.5), which would have landed in their last two outings.